512 Solutions - leadership teamshttp://www.512solutions.com/Blog/tag/leadership-teams
enCompete or Collaborate: Leadership Team Shifts http://www.512solutions.com/blog/leadership-team-shifts-colorado
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<p><strong>Have you ever wondered why your leadership team struggles so much? </strong>Why there is unexplained tension and unspoken expectations? </p>
<p>Leadership Teams are straddled with unique challenges that other teams don't normally face. For example, most members of a Leadership Team often "own" a function of the organization (e.g., Marketing, Engineering, Sales), are rewarded based on the success of that function, and then asked to be part of a team of peers who battle for the same set of resources.</p>
<p><strong>Instead of collaboration..competition often results. </strong></p>
<p>On a healthy team, a variety of shifts occur in individual team members' attitudes and behaviors as they embrace the concept of leading at a functional level and being part of a leadership team. For example: </p>
<table align="left" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 475px; "><thead><tr><th scope="col" style="width: 334px; ">I<strong>ndividual/Functional Focus</strong></th>
<th scope="col" style="width: 339px; "><strong>Organizational Focus</strong></th>
</tr></thead><tbody><tr><td style="width: 334px; ">Making decisions based on functional needs first.</td>
<td style="width: 339px; ">Making decisions based on business needs first.</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 334px; ">Competing for resources based on functional needs first.</td>
<td style="width: 339px; ">Competing for resources based on business needs first.</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 334px; ">Collaboration occurs mostly in functional area, creating silos across the organization.</td>
<td style="width: 339px; ">Thinking shifts to a systems perspective where the leader has the agility to take other functional areas into account.</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 334px; ">Operational and day-to-day orientation first.</td>
<td style="width: 339px; ">Strategic orientation drives day-to-day priorities.</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 334px; ">Time is spent mostly focused on urgent items.</td>
<td style="width: 339px; ">A leader's calendar has time blocked-off for strategic thinking and people development.</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 334px; ">Leadership team meetings take the leader away from "real work."</td>
<td style="width: 339px; ">Leadership team meetings are valued and an important part of the leader's role.</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 334px; ">Individual ego and agenda first.</td>
<td style="width: 339px; ">Relentless drive and passion for the organization first.</td>
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<p>These are just a few of the key shifts Leadership Teams need to make to elevate their effectiveness. How is your team doing? What shifts do individual team members need to make? What would be the impact if those shifts were successfully made?</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><a href="/Blog/tag/leadership-teams" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">leadership teams</a>, <a href="/Blog/tag/executive-teams" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">executive teams</a>, <a href="/Blog/tag/corporate-team-building-denver-colorado" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">corporate team building denver colorado</a><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Categories:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/Blog/category/sals-perspective" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Sal&#039;s Perspective</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/Blog/category/team-building" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Team Building</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/Blog/category/team-coaching" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Team Coaching</a></div></div></div>Tue, 14 May 2013 19:14:34 +0000Sal Silvester3762 at http://www.512solutions.comhttp://www.512solutions.com/blog/leadership-team-shifts-colorado#commentsThe Global Leadership Team - Part 3http://www.512solutions.com/Blog/leadership/the-global-leadership-team-part-3
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>In the first of three posts about The Global Leadership Team, we talked about the importance of cultivating the team with agile leaders. Part 2 focused on creating the team's cultural building blocks. This post is focused on enhancing trust and respect among team members.</p>
<p><strong>Building Trust and Respect Among Team Members</strong></p>
<p><strong></strong>The most effective global leadership teams are focused on problem solving and decision making. To do that effectively, team members need a strong foundation of trust and respect for each other so that ultimately they can engage in the dialogue and debate it takes to make the few and consequential decisions for the global organization. Without the dialogue and debate, assumptions go unchallenged and decisions take longer to make. Even worse, team members with less developed language skills are often overlooked or perceived as quiet, resulting in a low level of participation and ultimately commitment toward a global direction.</p>
<p>The bottom line is that trust and respect becomes the cornerstone of efficiency on a global leadership team.</p>
<p>Here are a few tips for building trust and respect.</p>
<ul><li>Team members have to be committed to spending time together. In most cases this means making the weekly team meeting as important a priority as customer meetings and other obligations.</li>
<li>Quarterly in-person off sites can help accelerate relationship building.</li>
<li>Individuals have to be proactive in their communication with each other, by intentionally reaching out to connect with each other even when they don't have a specific agenda item on their plate. Schedule recurring calendar reminders to help ensure this happens consistently.</li>
<li>Team members have to be sensitive to resolving conflict with each other in a timely manner. Language barriers, tone of voice, and unspoken expectations often generate misunderstandings when team members aren't physically together.</li>
<li>Engage in team building activities to continue trust building and ensure the team stays accountable to its agreements.</li>
</ul><p>The global leadership team can be a source of innovation and shared vision for an organization. Don't let the gaps in time, distance, and cultural differences lesson its impact. Ensure the team is comprised of agile leaders, create the cultural building blocks, and focus incessantly on building trust and respect.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><a href="/Blog/tag/geographically-dispersed-team" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">geographically dispersed team</a>, <a href="/Blog/tag/leadership-teams" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">leadership teams</a>, <a href="/Blog/tag/remote-teams" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">remote teams</a>, <a href="/Blog/tag/virtual-teams" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">virtual teams</a><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Categories:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/Blog/category/leadership" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Leadership</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/Blog/category/sals-perspective" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Sal&#039;s Perspective</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/Blog/category/team-building" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Team Building</a></div></div></div>Tue, 03 Apr 2012 05:00:25 +0000Sal Silvester3668 at http://www.512solutions.comhttp://www.512solutions.com/Blog/leadership/the-global-leadership-team-part-3#commentsThe Global Leadership Team - Part 2http://www.512solutions.com/Blog/leadership/the-global-leadership-team-part-2
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>In the first of three posts about The Global Leadership Team, we talked about the importance of cultivating the team with agile leaders. In this post we'll focus on the importance of creating the cultural building blocks.</p>
<p><strong>Intentionally Creating the Team's Cultural Building Blocks</strong></p>
<p>In our work with senior leadership teams, we typically start by helping the team put in place what we call the Cultural Building Blocks. These are the foundational components that enable a team to be successful - regardless of whether team members are co-located or global.</p>
<ul><li><strong><em>Build Block 1</em></strong> is to define the team's purpose. Purpose drives everything, and you can often spot a global leadership team that isn't clear about its purpose because they do what I call "the round robin" in their weekly staff meetings - where each team member shares what they did last week and what's coming up in the following week, and no one else, except the President, really cares.</li>
<li><strong><em>Building Block 2</em></strong> is to define the communication strategy that will drive the team's purpose. This often requires a leadership team to get out of their day-to-day orientation and spend a larger portion of their time collectively focused on long-term strategy and planning. The communication strategy on a global leadership team gets more complicated as team members span multiple time zones. A combination of using various communication technologies, such as email, webinars, Skype, etc., and sharing the burden of meeting at odd hours can help overcome those differences.</li>
<li> <strong><em>Building Block 3</em></strong> is to create shared norms across the team. Norms will happen regardless of whether they are intentional or not. On a global leadership team, these norms are the key to bridging different culturally acceptable ways of working.</li>
<li> <strong><em>Building Block 4</em></strong> is to ensure the team is aligned around a small set of collective goals. The challenge is that on many leadership teams, individual leaders are rewarded based on their business unit or functional area, and, as a result, often compete for resources instead of allocating resources to the area that needs them most. Having clarity about the most important objectives and goals for the organization will help keep team members focused on the right things.</li>
</ul><p>The building blocks aren't complicated. They are, however, often messy to establish.</p>
<p>Stay tuned for Part 3 of this series to learn about the last component needed for global leadership team success.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><a href="/Blog/tag/geographically-dispersed-teams" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">geographically dispersed teams</a>, <a href="/Blog/tag/global-leadership-teams" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">global leadership teams</a>, <a href="/Blog/tag/leadership-teams" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">leadership teams</a>, <a href="/Blog/tag/virtual-teams" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">virtual teams</a><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Categories:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/Blog/category/leadership" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Leadership</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/Blog/category/sals-perspective" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Sal&#039;s Perspective</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/Blog/category/team-building" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Team Building</a></div></div></div>Thu, 29 Mar 2012 05:00:11 +0000Sal Silvester3667 at http://www.512solutions.comhttp://www.512solutions.com/Blog/leadership/the-global-leadership-team-part-2#commentsThe Global Leadership Team - Part 1http://www.512solutions.com/Blog/leadership/the-global-leadership-team-part-1
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Separated by time. Separated by distance. Separated by cultural differences.</p>
<p>Meet the global leadership team.</p>
<p>They are comprised of people living and working in various parts of the world. Sometimes all team members are remote. Usually some are co-located. The global leadership team faces many of the same challenges as a co-located leadership team, but require additional attention and intention to be successful. Consider these challenges that often derail global leadership team efforts.</p>
<ul><li>A team within a team forms where President and a few team members who are co-located meet to discuss topics that should involve all team members.</li>
<li>Time zone differences and other logistical barriers get in the way of team members spending time together, thwarting efforts to build trust and respect among team members.</li>
<li>Resources are hoarded within various business units or silos, partly because of a lack of information sharing, partly because of the reward system, and mostly because a lack of shared goals.</li>
</ul><p>So the question is - how can a global leadership team be successful? Much of what needs to be done to create a successful global leadership team is the same as creating a co-located leadership team. But, there are a few nuances to consider.</p>
<p>We believe there are three key components to making a global leadership team work.</p>
<p>1. Cultivating the team with agile leaders.</p>
<p>2. Intentionally creating the team's Cultural Building Blocks.</p>
<p>3. Building trust and respect among team members.</p>
<p>Let's explore all of these areas in more detail.</p>
<p><strong>Cultivating the Team with Agile Leaders</strong></p>
<p>Imagine a team with its corporate headquarters in Finland and part of its executive team in the United States. Or how about a team with corporate headquarters in the United States and business units in Spain, France, China, and Japan.</p>
<p>The complexity of the global decisions that need to be made can be overwhelming. And the flexibility needed from team members to make those decisions in the face of cultural differences is enormous.</p>
<p>Agile individuals who succeed on global leadership teams…</p>
<ul><li>Seek to understand others. They know that differences aren't wrong. They are just different.</li>
<li>Constantly work to develop self-awareness so that in the face of cultural differences, chaos, and complexities they can remain in dialogue with their team members.</li>
<li>They are patient and good listeners.</li>
<li>They have tolerance for different perspectives, ways of seeing the work, and culturally accepted methods for work.</li>
<li>Are open to learning about and utilizing different communication technologies.</li>
</ul><p>As you build and grow your global leadership team, look for agile leaders first.</p>
<p>Stay tuned for part 2 of this post where we'll focus on how to intentionally create the team's Cultural Building Blocks.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><a href="/Blog/tag/global-leadership-teams" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">global leadership teams</a>, <a href="/Blog/tag/leadership-teams" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">leadership teams</a>, <a href="/Blog/tag/remote-teams" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">remote teams</a>, <a href="/Blog/tag/virtual-teams" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">virtual teams</a><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Categories:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/Blog/category/leadership" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Leadership</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/Blog/category/sals-perspective" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Sal&#039;s Perspective</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/Blog/category/team-building" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Team Building</a></div></div></div>Tue, 27 Mar 2012 05:00:47 +0000Sal Silvester3666 at http://www.512solutions.comhttp://www.512solutions.com/Blog/leadership/the-global-leadership-team-part-1#comments